Contributed by: JimmyNorvilleJimmyNorville(others by this writer | submit your own)Published on October 9th 2012Back when Sitting Army was released, the thing that made Cobra Skulls stand out above the rest of the Red Scare roster, to me, was their weirdness. They were some sort of pop punk band, but they had all sorts of other shit thrown in to keep everything interesting. With their first full-length for Fa.

Back when Sitting Army was released, the thing that made Cobra Skulls stand out above the rest of the Red Scare roster, to me, was their weirdness. They were some sort of pop punk band, but they had all sorts of other shit thrown in to keep everything interesting. With their first full-length for Fat Wreck Chords, Agitations, the band came scarily close to releasing a straight-up pop punk record. I was still a fan, but was worried about the direction the band was headed. Cue your "I Used To Like Them When They Put 'Cobra' In The Titles" jokes.

Cut to the present and Cobra Skulls have released the Eagle Eyes 7". There are only three songs on here, so there isn't much room for diversity compared to, say, the 17-track American Rubicon. However, while two of the three songs still fall fairly clearly within the boundaries of pop punk, it sounds like Cobra Skulls are back on track.

Eagle Eyes opens, fittingly, with "Eagle Eyes." It's a bit of a heavier track, though still poppy, and Devin Peralta's vocals have never sounded so good. The opening lines are sung with just the right amount of twang, a few lines are sung with a slightly raspier, gruff voice and the song's chorus will get stuck in the listener's head almost instantly.

On the b-side, the band mellows out for the just-one-minute "Internal War," which finds the gang playing an alt-country-influenced tune. Bringing the loud punk rock back, "Walk Away" closes the release with guitar riffs and a driving beat while showcasing the often overlooked ability of Cobra Skulls to not only write political or socially conscious songs, but to become personal at times too.

Everyone is bringing their A-game on this release, including the producer who made things really pop. While Cobra Skulls have come a long way from singing about Donald Rumsfeld molesting them (probably for the better), they've shown they can still keep things interesting musically and cover subjects more diverse than the myriad of political topics they're known for. Despite a lack of reggae influence or bilingual lyrics, the band does just enough on this release to make it clear that this is Cobra Skulls. They are still moving forward and still keeping the audience on their toes.

I've loved everything by the Cobra Skulls I've heard, up until this. I like this, but it doesn't sound like Cobra Skulls. A lot of people said they're "back on track", but they've gone even further in the straight up pop-punk direction they started on Agitations (which I loved). Devin's bass lacks so much here. It's a little disappointing. All that said, I like it, it's just weirdly different.

I'm actually shocked at how much positive feedback this is getting.
"Eagle Eyes" is somewhat decent, but there's still something "off" about it.
The other one (it IS one song, just divided into 2 tracks) is just terrible.

The "Eat Your Babies" demo is actually better than this.

I hate to say it, but this is the first thing from Cobra Skulls I give a thumbs down to.

I feel like Agitations was a bit rushed. I read about how Devin basically locked himself away for a few weeks to write the songs and about how Fat Mike told them that they were not ready to record. I would guess that signing to a bigger label like Fat put a little pressure on them to deliver the goods more quickly than they would have liked. Agitations is still solid in my book, though.

Bringing the War Home, on the other hand, was not rushed. They already had the songs written before they signed to Fat and decided to put out an EP. As others have said - BTWH is probably their finest release to date. In short, I'm hoping that they had ample time to write these songs and let them develop for a little while before they hit the studio.

"...Devin Peralta‚??s vocals have never sounded so good." When I first played the 7-inch I wasn't even sure if it was Devin. He does sound amazing though. Sounds like a completely new Devin. I'm stoked for whatever follows this.

I've always said their EPs and singles are better than their albums and this reinforces that for me. I thought "Bringing the War Home" was their best yet, though the Bad Religion cover didn't really belong. This is a good one.

Good 7" and good review. I know what you're saying about their "weirdness". All their quirks and varied influences is what makes CS great and I'm sure they'll get back to making another schizophrenic record.